How I Read a Book" by Tim Challies

How I Read a Book" by Tim Challies

Last week I encouraged you to Read More and Read Better. Then I got both busy and distracted and didn't give you the second part. So let me do that today. Let me tell you how I read a book.

Overview

Before I do anything else, I want to get an overview of the book. Very rarely will I read a book without really knowing what it is about. Here I learn about the reason it exists, whether it is attempting to make its mark in the world of ideas or the world of entertainment. Here I learn about its significance. And, most importantly, here I learn about its purpose. From the back cover, from the Foreword and Preface, I can learn what the book is trying to do, to teach. I may also turn to a review or two, though generally I prefer not to since I prefer to form my own opinion of it. (The less familiar I am with the topic, the more likely I am to read some reviews.) I also tend to read the Acknowledgements since this tends to help me understand the author a bit more.

The overview stage is typically where I decide whether or not I will try to read the book. Like everyone else, I'm probably unduly influenced by the cover copy and even by the cover itself.

What & Why

At this point I have decided to read a book--or at least to start reading a book. I probably finish about two thirds of the books I start. The rest fall along the wayside for one reason or another. I am not afraid to walk away from a book that is not living up to its promise. I've got better things to do than read inferior books.

Next I determine what kind of a book it is and why I'm reading it. Is it a heavy and dense book or a light and easy one? Is it the kind of book I am going to have to study to understand it, or will it need only a quick read? And having asked those questions, I want to know why I'm reading it. Am I reading it for fun or study? Am I reading it because I really want to absorb every word or am I reading it just for the experience of reading it? Or maybe I am reading it quickly just to understand why there is so much buzz about it. There are nearly as many reasons to read a book as there are books. So I always want to answer the what and why questions before I dive in. These in turn tell me how I am going to read it.

How

If the book is one that I am reading primarily for fun rather than some kind of profound spiritual or intellectual profit, I will typically read it quickly. I will often take no notes and will usually read at the fastest pace I can manage while still managing a decent level of comprehension. With this kind of book I am very willing to trade retention for speed. These are the books I tend to read on my Kindle or, in a pinch, on my iPhone. I still prefer to do serious reading with paper and ink, but light reading suits the Kindle with its lower prices and and limited interactivity.

If the book is one that I am hoping to both comprehend and retain, I make it a much slower and more interactive process.

I've already read the cover and the Preface or Introduction, so I know what the book is going to be about. I've often also read a handful of reviews, so I know what others are saying about the book's importance. I will keep that in mind as I begin.

The first pages are generally absolutely crucial for comprehension. Here I almost always find the author's purpose for writing the book along with his assessment of who the audience is. I need to know this if I am going to understand the book. When I find this information, I mark it and make sure I keep it in mind. It really does matter. If he is writing for a young and relatively uninformed audience, I will have to assess the book far differently than if he is writing for a knowledgeable audience. This may effect what he says and it may effect the way he says it. Think, for example, of the way Tim Keller writes--how he always keeps in mind his audience of young, unchurched New Yorkers. This makes his presentation radically different than, say, a book by John Piper. They may write a book on a similar theme, but how they say what they say will be very different.

If I want to understand and remember, I always benefit from taking notes and making highlights. There was a time when I considered it near-sacrilege to deface my books with anything other than light pencil marks. But I soon realized there is great benefit in marking up a book. This is part of the process of making the book my own, of really owning it. In fact, I don't know at this point how I'd retain much at all without doing this. I arrived at my own system for marking and its a very simple one. Some people just write, some write and highlight, some use a series of symbols. I write and highlight. When reading I almost always keep a highlighter and one of those mini Sharpie's in my hand. I highlight anything I deem to be important in understanding the book. I tend to write questions; questions I would ask the author if he was there, questions I expect the book to answer for me. I also write notes about what I'll want to remember as I write a review. And I write notes about anything else that bears mention, either good or bad. I also try to keep a notebook in hand where I can jot down ideas for something I may want to blog about. It is a good idea, at the end of a chapter, to write a brief review of just that chapter; this will help you make sure you are staying in the flow of the book.

The purpose in all of this is to make reading an interactive experience. I do not want to be a passive receptor; rather, I want to be active in absorbing what the author is teaching and in interacting with it. I want to talk back to the author, to have a conversation through reading. I talk back through my pen.

Review

Part of my system for remembering a book and for making sure I understand it involves writing a review. Book reviews have always been a part of this blog for that very reason. For more advice on writing reviews, check out my article How To Review a Book. If writing a review does not interest you, at least consider talking about the book with someone else (and, if possible, someone who has also read it). A good discussion about the book will further both comprehension and retention.

For an especially good book, file it away and come back to it a year later. There are some books that merit reading every year for a few years consecutively. I pretty much guarantee that each time you read it, you will learn something new and will pick up on new emphases within it.

Conclusion

I don't think I have said anything too radical here. I really do only what others have done for ages. I view reading as one of, if not the, primary way I learn. I am a reader more than a listener and certainly more than a watcher. I love to learn and thus I love to read. It's my hope that by reading and perhaps implementing these tips, maybe, just maybe, you can learn to read a bit better and, as you grow in your ability, grow in your love.